Chapter 759: Startling the World with a Single Feat

Li Xue's ears "buzzed," as if Zhang Haiyue's words were gradually disappearing, moving away from her.

Although she could still hear clearly the enrollment requirements Zhang Haiyue mentioned: "No exam needed, it's a method combining recommendation and selection, politics is the first principle..."

"Li Xue?"

"Ah~"

Li Xue suddenly woke up, blinked her eyes, and looked at Zhang Haiyue, who was looking at her worriedly, and her mother, who was looking at her with the same worried gaze in the living room.

"What?"

"I was asking you, is your job temporary or formal?"

Zhang Haiyue didn't care about Li Xue's distraction just now; no one could bear it when such a thing happened.

"If your job is temporary, you can come back and continue preparing for the enrollment work."

"No... not... no..."

Li Xue hesitated for a moment, looked at Zhang Haiyue and explained, "I am already a formal worker."

"Ah, what a pity."

Zhang Haiyue hugged Li Xue's arm with regret and said, "Your grades are the best in our whole grade; if you were to be recommended, you would definitely be the first."

Li Xue's face was a bit pale, her hand held by Zhang Haiyue was very weak, and she didn't know what the taste in her heart was; she only felt that she was a bit panicked.

To be honest, she regretted it a bit. When Second Brother asked her if she wanted a job, she felt there was no hope for university.

The notices from above changed every day, and later the teachers were gone, and their school was in chaos.

Precisely because of her trust in Second Brother, and she herself felt that a job was better, she chose her current job.

But hearing her classmate say that she could go to university, she seemed to have really missed the dream she longed for.

Yes, she missed it.

Second Brother had already transferred her file to the factory, and she had also officially completed the entry procedures in the factory. Her personnel relationship was of cadre nature; it couldn't be changed.

"Little Xue~"

"Mom?"

When Li Xue raised her head and came back to her senses, she found that Zhang Haiyue beside her had left at some point, and her mother, eldest sister-in-law, and third sister-in-law were looking at her with worry.

And the sunlight outside the window had faded at some point, turning into a wisp of sunset.

"Little Xue, if you have anything to say, say it out; don't hold it in your heart."

"Eldest Sister-in-law."

Li Xue looked at her eldest sister-in-law, steadied her mind, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, revealing a smile, and said, "What could I have to hold in my heart?"

Ji Yuxiu sat beside Li Xue, gently hugged her shoulders, and comforted her, "It doesn't matter. If it really doesn't work, talk to Second Brother and get the procedures back."

"What's that~"

Li Xue smiled forcedly, looked at her third sister-in-law and said, "You still think the Steel Rolling Factory is our home."

After speaking, she looked at her mother and eldest sister-in-law and said, "It's okay. My current job is something many people envy. I'm really okay."

Seeing her mother pull her hand and her family having this expression, Li Xue only said happily, "Second Brother did so much for me; how could I possibly regret it?"

"Besides."

Li Xue stood up, took her change of clothes, smiled and said, "What's the point of regretting something that's already lost?"

While walking out, she exhorted them, "Don't tell my Second Brother about this."

Ji Yuxiu looked at Li Xue's back with worry, then looked at her eldest sister-in-law.

There was no one in this family to make decisions; they just discussed with each other.

Because Zhao Yafang was the eldest, Ji Yuxiu still respected her opinion.

Zhao Yafang patted her mother-in-law's arm to comfort her, "Let her slow down herself; she has to think it through herself."

Ji Yuxiu saw that her eldest sister-in-law said so, so she also got up and followed out the door.

Every time Li Xue went to the house to take a bath, she accompanied her, or locked the door.

There are many people in this courtyard, and it's inconvenient to do anything. It's still the East Courtyard; she lives with Yu Li. It would be even more troublesome if it were the backyard.

Because there is a gatehouse at the entrance, there are always boys playing cards at night. Ji Yuxiu is not afraid of this; she puts a gun by her pillow when she sleeps. Who dares to mess with her?

But Li Xue can't. Li Xue hasn't learned this. If something happens, it will be too late to regret.

It's not that she hasn't talked about taking Li Xue to learn shooting, but Li Xuewu can't be moved, let alone her.

Last month, Li Xuewu saw that his sister was fine and wanted to teach her shooting. The shooting range was ready-made, but Li Xue didn't want to learn this; she had no interest.

It would be fine if it were buying dolls; a gun is not a toy she likes.

Gu Ning even has time to practice shooting in the hospital. At this time, women liking guns is not considered violent.

"Not loving red clothes but loving armed forces."

Haiyuncang No. 1.

Qin Jingru heard the movement of the car and came out to open the door. Seeing the car parked steadily, Han Jiankun got off the car with Li Xuewu and Sha Qizhi. She wondered what was going on.

But seeing Han Jiankun and Sha Qizhi helping to unload a large wooden box from the trunk, which was still dripping water inside.

"What is this?"

"Seafood."

Han Jiankun only had time to explain one sentence before he carried the box into the courtyard with Section Chief Sha.

"No need to go into the house, just put it in the courtyard."

Li Xuewu followed into the courtyard, signaling that there was a faucet in the courtyard, and they would wash it there.

Han Jiankun and Sha Qizhi washed their hands, refused Li Xuewu's action of wanting to share the seafood with them, and ran out the door.

Li Xuewu was just calling Qin Jingru to get a basin when the two had already gotten into the car and left.

"Wow, so much seafood!"

Qin Jingru pried open the wooden lid on top; inside was a large plastic bag, with ice packed all around it.

"This is crab, this is prawn, this is yellow croaker..."

Li Xuewu wasn't surprised that she recognized these things, because there was a picture book at home that introduced them.

However, what she said could only be taken with a grain of salt; she got two of the first three names wrong...

At this time, where would there be prawns? And there was more to sea fish than just yellow croaker.

The old lady walked out of the room holding the child, looked at Qin Jingru, who was squatting by the faucet looking at the box, and asked Li Xuewu, who was walking up the steps, "What is that?"

"Seafood, brought back by a colleague from a business trip."

Li Xuewu explained and went into the house; while changing into slippers, he looked into the living room, then walked up to the second floor, and seeing Gu Ning reading, with Gu Yan not around, he walked toward the inner room and asked, "Where's Gu Yan?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since he got off work."

Gu Ning stood up and followed him in; seeing Li Xuewu looking for clothes, she frowned and said, "Didn't you talk to him? Why is he still like this?"

"Hehe, I'm his brother-in-law, I can't lecture him too deeply."

Li Xuewu took his change of clothes into the bathroom and started showering without even closing the door.

"He comes back every day, don't worry, he's just the playful type."

"You can't just let him run wild like this."

Gu Ning's voice came from outside, and Li Xuewu's ears were filled with the sound of rushing water.

"That's up to you to say; I only said it once, if I really manage him again, I'll have to use my hands."

As he spoke, he poked his head out of the bathroom, looked at Gu Ning, and asked with a smile, "If I hit him, won't Mom feel bad?"

After finishing, he pulled his head back in, continued washing his hair, and muttered, "If you're going to manage him, be strict; if not, don't say anything. Saying too much is useless."

Gu Ning twitched the corner of her mouth toward the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about her brother.

He had been back for five days, and she hadn't seen him all day; he played until midnight every day. If he weren't her own brother and their parents weren't around, she would really want to kick him out.

By comparison, although Li Xuewu also liked to play, he was truly many times stronger than her own brother.

"Do you know where he's been playing?"

"How would I know?"

Li Xuewu's voice came from the bathroom: "When he comes back, I'm sleeping. We never cross paths."

Gu Ning said angrily, "If it really doesn't work, I'll call Dad."

"Do it sooner rather than later!"

Li Xuewu showered quickly; after rinsing off the sweat, he walked to the door and wiped his body with a bath towel.

"Beijing isn't stable; if he can't behave himself, let him go back to his unit, so you don't have to worry."

"How can you say that!"

Provoked by Li Xuewu's words, Gu Ning felt uncomfortable again, as if the two of them didn't want to keep her brother at home.

Seeing Gu Ning like this, Li Xuewu smiled, got dressed, walked out, and sat beside Gu Ning, saying, "Look at you, worrying about gains and losses; the one in a difficult position is still you~"

"So whatever I say, you just agree, right~"

Gu Ning also saw Li Xuewu's attitude, which was that he had no attitude.

She wanted to manage her brother, so Li Xuewu supported her; she wanted to kick her brother out, so Li Xuewu supported her too. He was like a roly-poly toy, letting her make the decisions.

Li Xuewu wiped his hair with a towel and said helplessly, "Brother-in-law and brother-in-law, that's just how it is. You say it's fine, what can I say?"

After finishing, he shook the towel and gestured downstairs, saying, "Alright, stop thinking about it, let's go downstairs and eat."

"Who sent the seafood?"

Gu Ning was in the study upstairs with the windows open, so she could naturally hear the talking in the courtyard.

Li Xuewu stood up, went to the bathroom to hang up the towel, walked out, and explained, "Old Zhang from the unit went on a business trip to Yuezhou, passed through Jinmen, negotiated a seafood business, and brought back some specialties for a few close friends."

Gu Ning naturally didn't know about Li Xuewu's unit affairs; asking was just because Li Xuewu had started the topic.

She couldn't eat seafood; when it was cooked at home, it was for Li Xuewu and the others.

The two were just talking when the sound of a car came from downstairs. Li Xuewu walked to the window, took a look, turned back to Gu Ning, and said, "Alright, no need to think about saving any for him, he's back."

Gu Ning had just been thinking about not being angry with her brother, but hearing Li Xuewu say that, she said angrily, "He doesn't get to eat."

"Hehe~"

Li Xuewu smiled, walked to the foot of the bed, touched Gu Ning's hair, and said, "Can we eat while letting him watch? Can you stop him from reaching out?"

Gu Ning puffed out her cheeks and said, "Not eating, throw it all away~"

"Hiss~"

Li Xuewu's hand touching Gu Ning's hair paused, and he said with a wry smile, "Are you doing this to him? Or to me?"

Gu Ning pursed her lips and smiled; she was also joking with Li Xuewu.

"What is this~!"

"How is your nose so sensitive?"

Qin Jingru watched Gu Yan come up from the garage door and scolded him, "Are you a fortune teller or what!"

"Hehe, I have a knack for eating~"

Gu Yan had been here for several days and had gotten familiar with Qin Jingru; he knew she was here to take care of his sister and brother-in-law's housework, and he didn't mind that she was a country girl.

Every time he came back at midnight, it was Qin Jingru who turned on the light for him; when he woke up at eight or nine in the morning, it was Qin Jingru who left him breakfast.

In fact, Gu Yan's age was about the same as Li Xuecai's; he was truly an outstanding person of this era, possessing the youthful vigor of a young man.

Due to the influence of his family background and his own growth experience, this child was a proud person in his circle.

But this was only the case in their so-called circle; to his family and friends, he was just a young man.

Cheerful, lively, and ambitious, but because he didn't have to worry about food or drink, he had a bit of a playful temper.

His father's education at home was strict, and he had an older brother to compare himself to, so he naturally had some rebellious growth stages.

But he went to the army early, and any rebellion was corrected, so he became the personality he was now.

Outside, he was a "young master" who was used to being arrogant; at home, he was a mischievous little brat.

He had a rather stereotypical impression of rural people, and he had met many comrades in the army who came from the countryside.

But it was precisely because he had contact with these people that he understood the hardships of rural people today and understood their simplicity.

Qin Jingru was a carefree person who didn't have any hidden agendas in what she did or said, which suited his temperament.

Not the romantic kind of temperament, but the ease of living under the same roof.

He wasn't arrogant toward Qin Jingru, and Qin Jingru said whatever she wanted to him.

And so, as soon as they entered the courtyard, the two of them started bickering; Gu Yan saw Qin Jingru squatting by the sink cleaning the seafood, and the old lady was also squatting to the side, holding the child and helping her pick through it.

Li Shu found everything curious, especially living things; the clean crabs and prawns were wiggling in the water, and she was squatting by the basin, watching with great interest, ignoring even her little uncle's return.

Gu Yan deliberately teased her, bent down, pinched a crab, and brought it toward Li Shu.

"Bite~"

Li Shu was so scared that she sat on the old lady's feet; seeing it was her little uncle scaring her with a crab, she frowned and was about to cry.

"Hey~ just teasing you~"

Gu Yan knew he was in trouble; his sister must be upstairs, and if she heard Li Shu crying, she would definitely scold him.

"Good Li Shu, come, let uncle hold you."

Before Li Shu could pout, she had already been picked up by Gu Yan.

The biggest feeling of coming home these past few days was that the family atmosphere at his sister's house was stronger than at his own.

The old lady had brought the child back on Monday, and he hadn't seen Li Shu for a long time; this was his first formal contact and closeness with her.

The last time he came back was when his sister got married, and he only knew that Li Shu was a child his brother-in-law had picked up.

From his mother and sister-in-law's chats, he understood some of the child's background, but he didn't feel that it mattered that his brother-in-law had such a child before marrying his sister.

He was still a child himself, so his perspective on problems wasn't that comprehensive, and he hadn't paid attention to this little niece.

It wasn't until he came back this time and lived at his brother-in-law's house that he started to like this little girl who wasn't afraid of strangers and liked excitement.

However, a young man's affection is sometimes a bit heavy-handed; Li Shu was often teased to tears by her little uncle, which in turn caused Gu Ning a burst of dissatisfaction.

Fortunately, Li Shu was in a good mood today; although she was startled by her little uncle, in the time that followed, her little uncle coaxed her by flying her high and catching fish and crabs for her, finally making her laugh.

Li Xuewu came down from upstairs, looked at the few people squatting at the entrance, and asked Gu Yan, "Why are you back so early today?"

"Brother-in-law."

Gu Yan greeted him, then put Li Shu on the ground, letting her continue to squat and watch the prawns, while he stood up and replied with a smile, "Nothing interesting, I met everyone I needed to meet."

After finishing, he gestured to Qin Jingru, who was pouting, and said, "Also, isn't it because I calculated that there would be good food tonight?"

Li Xuewu also smiled and said, "Then you cook the seafood tonight; your sister says you're good at it," before heading into the living room.

Gu Yan looked up toward the second floor; he wanted to argue that he couldn't cook, but since his sister had said so, he could only squat down and stare at the seafood.

"You can cook seafood?"

"No, you do it."

Gu Yan heard Qin Jingru's skeptical words, quickly added a sentence, and was about to stand up and walk into the house.

But just as he moved, his hand was pulled by Li Shu.

"Yo! Bite~"

"Hehe, you know it bites, yet you still reach out."

Gu Yan saw Li Shu holding his small hand, pointing at the crab in the bucket and saying it bit people; he teased her with a smile, then squatted down and asked, "What do you call me?"

"Yo~"

"Un, Uncle~"

"Hey~"

"Go~ why is this child taking advantage of me~"

In the evening, Qin Jingru helped Gu Yan cook four dishes and specifically prepared two vegetable dishes for Gu Ning.

Because Gu Ning's appetite had been poor recently, the old lady steamed a small bowl of egg custard.

Li Shu sat at the table, looking at the red prawns and crabs, and then at the sea fish that had been cooked; her little eyebrows were furrowed, and her eyes kept looking outside the door.

"Don't worry, Uncle didn't eat your fish."

The old lady looked at Li Shu's little expression, comforted her with a smile, and fed her a spoonful of rice.

When they were cooking just now, Gu Yan saw Li Shu playing on the restaurant sofa and teased Li Shu with the sea fish, saying it was fished out of the fish tank at the door.

Li Shu couldn't tell the difference; she pointed her little finger outside the door and looked at her uncle in surprise.

Even when they were at the table, she was still looking at the fish lying on the plate, truly believing it was one of the few she watched every day.

Gu Yan knew she liked watching those fish at the door, which was why he teased her; he was chuckling, only to be glared at by Gu Ning.

Qin Jingru served the last dish to the table and went to the cupboard to get a few bottles of soda.

Gu Yan didn't need her to find an opener; he opened them himself with chopsticks.

"Brother-in-law, you're really not drinking?"

"Not drinking, you guys drink."

Li Xuewu smiled, not minding Gu Yan teasing him with the soda bottle; he picked up a piece of sea bass, picked out the bones on a small plate, and handed it to the old lady and Li Shu.

Gu Yan had been observing his brother-in-law sitting at the head of the table; he saw him picking out fish bones for the elderly and the child, and then picking out a plate for his sister.

There was no such situation in their family; everyone ate their own food. Although his mother helped pick out fish bones when he was young, it was rare, and it was mostly the family servant who took care of him.

His father, the head of the family, would never provide such care; otherwise, why would he say he could feel a stronger family atmosphere here?

"What is this?"

"Mussels."

"And this?"

"Mantis shrimp."

"And this?"

"Chatterbox~"

"You!"

The dinner table became rarely lively because Gu Yan was back; usually, the old lady wouldn't speak at the table, and Li Xuewu would speak even less.

Gu Ning's family didn't have so many rules, but she had been taught by teachers not to speak while eating or sleeping.

Only Gu Yan, who had been a mischievous monkey since he was small, would listen to anyone telling him that.

Qin Jingru was also familiar with Gu Yan; she wasn't stifled at Li Xuewu's house, there were just few people to talk to.

They were all young people, but Li Xuewu was like an old man, and Gu Ning spoke even less; she could only talk to the old lady.

Having finally found someone lively, the two of them started laughing and talking at the dinner table.

Qin Jingru had never eaten seafood and was curious about everything; there were things she hadn't even seen before, let alone know how to eat.

The old lady had eaten it once or twice, but it was the kind transported in the middle of winter, and she hadn't seen so many varieties.

Gu Yan ate a lot; he had gotten sick of it during sea training. Qin Jingru was asking about this and that like a chatterbox; he said it was annoying, but he still taught Qin Jingru how to eat it.

Li Shu saw them eating deliciously and became anxious; she wasn't satisfied with the fish meat picked out by her father.

Watching Li Shu anxiously reaching out with her little hands to grab the plates on the table, the old lady quickly washed a sea snail and handed it to her.

Having gotten a toy, Li Shu finally gave up; otherwise, the "little demon king" would throw a tantrum, and no one would be able to eat in peace.

Perhaps because she was growing up, Li Shu could accurately express her emotions; she wouldn't cry when sleeping or hungry, unless someone made her dissatisfied.

Joy, anger, and happiness—she could clearly express her thoughts and use body language to assist her not-so-clear speech.

She was over a year old, and the old lady often teased her into talking; the words "Dad," "Mom," "Grandma," "Hit," and "Bite" were all said very clearly.

Saying one word at a time, slowly she started saying two-word phrases; when she got a little older, by the end of the year, she would be able to say complete vocabulary clearly.

Like "Dad," "Mom," "Food," not like now, where she only says what she wants to say.

The old lady concretized the harm of living things to the human body with the word "bite," so Li Shu knew not to easily reach out and touch things that could move; these things would bite her.

Because it took a while to clean the seafood, it was already nearly eight o'clock when they finished dinner.

Li Xuewu sat in the living room listening to the news broadcast on the radio; Gu Ning had already taken Li Shu upstairs to draw.

Gu Yan sat diagonally across from Li Xuewu after showering, fiddling with the picture book in his hand; he had brought it back yesterday, and it seemed to be about cars.

There was a slight sound of talking in the kitchen; it was the old lady and Qin Jingru cleaning up.

Watching Li Xuewu sitting steadily there drinking tea and listening to the news, Gu Yan raised his eyebrows and looked sideways.

His father was like this when he was at home, and he and his older brother didn't have this patience; they couldn't listen to the long, formulaic news broadcasts.

Coming here, he just wondered if every family had someone like this, someone who was particularly concerned about current events and politics.

Maybe it really was!

Sihe Academy, backyard.

Liu Guangtian had bad luck today; he lost all the small change in his pocket.

They had started a game in the gatehouse as soon as they got off work; it wasn't until Liu Shen from the Li family in the front yard carried a trash can out to dump the trash, and he smelled a rich odor of swill, that he realized he was hungry.

After putting down the cards in his hand and agreeing to return in half an hour to fight again, he stood up and walked toward home.

When passing the moon gate, he sniffed carefully, not knowing whether it was the inverted room in the outer courtyard or the Li family in the front courtyard that had this smell of food.

He had just seen Liu Shen pass by, but why did the inverted room have it too?

Damn it, his own family couldn't even eat meat, and they were eating lard!

This really wasn't because his nose was sensitive, but because Old Biaozi had been doing more and more business with Director Ma recently, and the supply and marketing cooperative couldn't just do nothing.

Today was a coincidence; Director Ma left a piece of pork fat for Old Biaozi and told him to take it home to render oil.

This stuff was good; many people couldn't buy it even if they went to the supply and marketing cooperative; it was either intercepted privately by the meat stall or demanded by the leaders.

Old Biaozi brought it back with the pig offal, all packed in a sack, so others didn't see it.

When he got home, Old Biaozi let Seeing Sha Zhu divide a quarter of it and send it to the Li family, saying it was for rendering lard.

The inverted room had many people, so they kept more; the Li family only had these few women left, so they got less.

In Old Biaozi's view, this wasn't anything precious; since Director Ma gave it the first time, there would be a second time.

The Steel Rolling Mill's special train would be back soon, and the supply and marketing cooperative was eyeing this batch of goods.

This fat was pig adipose tissue; it was boiled in a large iron pot with water, and what remained at the end was lard.

In this era, city people mostly ate soybean oil; eating lard really depended on one's fate.

Lard was meat; cooking vegetables with it meant having oil droplets, which was truly mouth-watering.

They couldn't bear to throw away the remaining cracklings; they used them sparingly for cooking, and they could last for more than half a month.

The oil for the inverted room was rendered by Seeing Sha Zhu, and the oil for the Li family was rendered by Liu Yin; with the smell wafting back and forth, the people in the courtyard were drooling.

Liu Guangtian came back late and had been playing cards, so he hadn't noticed the smell; it wasn't until he really reached the front yard and heard the old women in the courtyard talking that he knew what was going on.

Hmph~ let you guys be arrogant for a while; Li Xuewu won't be able to be arrogant for many more days.

He had always been jealous of Li Xuewu; he hadn't dared to say anything before, but now it was different.

Yesterday, he had a very enthusiastic chat with the person in charge of the "East Wind," and his heart was greatly encouraged.

Because he was strong and young, and shouted slogans loudly, he was designated as a team leader by that person.

This team leader wasn't a position in the factory, just a title within their group.

But with this title, he felt he was different; at least he wasn't an ordinary worker anymore.

What does it mean to take a chicken feather as a command arrow? He was the same character as his father.

Don't look at the fact that their group wasn't official now; that didn't mean they weren't participating in politics.

On the contrary, what they were doing was a kind of political activity.

Liu Guangtian didn't quite understand this; he only knew that doing this could make him look prominent in front of others, and shouting slogans could gain him respect.

At the same time, he could gain support and help from these people when doing certain things.

For example, if he wanted to mess with Li Xuewu, as long as he had enough people and mobilized enough power.

Never mind Li Xuewu, what about Yang Fengshan?

Now they had the working group backing them up, so they dared to say anything and do anything to anyone.

Today, they were only targeting cadres in the workshop; maybe tomorrow it would be people outside the workshop.

There weren't many people in the front yard; the Third Master's family was cooling off at the entrance, but the Third Master wasn't there; judging by the sound, he was listening to the radio inside.

When he reached the middle courtyard, it was lively; many people had moved small benches and were sitting in the courtyard chatting.

This was the hottest time of summer; by August, it would be muggy, and sitting in the courtyard at night would still feel hot.

His status was high now, so he naturally didn't want to bother with the people in the courtyard; in fact, no one took the initiative to greet him either.

Seventh Sister-in-law and the others were sitting at their door chattering, and the Qin Huairu family was pasting matchboxes at the door, borrowing the light from the courtyard.

The First Master and the others were sitting by the well talking, feeling it was cooler there.

Qin Huairu's family was bored, so they occupied a corner of the courtyard to build a chicken coop and a rabbit coop; everyone disliked the smell, so no one wanted to sit over there.

There were many people and little space, making it very noisy.

Watching Liu Guangtian enter, someone might have greeted him before, but later, seeing him looking up at the sky and not doing his proper job, no one looked at him straight.

He passed through the middle courtyard as if he didn't see anyone; he didn't have a word for his uncles and elders like the First Master, and the First Master and the others acted as if they didn't see him either.

Don't look at the fact that he didn't take the initiative to speak; he wasn't happy looking at the attitude of the First Master and the others.

Are they looking down on me?

Just wait!

Liu Guangtian was very arrogant now; his younger brother was a little brat at school, and he was a little team leader at work; their family would prosper in the future too!

Hmph! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!

"Mom, get some food, I'm hungry!"

As soon as he entered the backyard and before he even entered the house, he shouted at his family without any courtesy.

When he saw that the old lady's house in the backyard was pitch black, and someone was sitting at the door staring at him, he was almost startled.

Then, looking by the light of the house, it turned out the old lady wasn't sleeping, but sitting at the door like a stone lion.

"Heh~!"

Liu Guangtian shook his chin, ignored the old lady, widened his eyes, and went toward his house.

He didn't even hear what the deaf old lady was muttering; anyway, anything related to filial piety had nothing to do with him.

Ever since her illness, the Second Master's wife's mouth hadn't been right, and she would drool from time to time.

Plus her hands and feet were numb, so she couldn't do any heavy work at home.

The clothes had to be washed by the men themselves, and the firewood had to be brought into the house by the men; she could only cook a little food.

She could still take care of herself for now; she just didn't know who would take care of her after she became paralyzed.

None of these three sons could be relied upon; each one was more impatient than the last.

She couldn't speak clearly now, and her husband's status as the head of the family wasn't solid anymore; this family really didn't have the authority to manage the children.

The third son was nowhere to be found all day, no one knew who he was hanging out with; the second son came back and played cards, and only knew to come home when he was hungry.

Whether it was the second or third son, the first sentence they said when they came home was always, "Mom, I'm hungry, get something to eat," never "Mom, are you hungry? I'll cook for you."

She was just living one day at a time; hearing the second son's shout, she moved her body and went to the kitchen.

After entering the house, Liu Guangtian glanced at the kitchen, then looked at his father sitting at the eight-immortal table listening to the radio, and pouted, "I don't know what he's listening to all day."

"You don't know anything."

Usually, Liu Haizhong wouldn't dare speak to his son like this, because he wasn't a formal worker anymore; he was considered a sinner.

But today was different; he had been listening to the radio for a long time and finally figured out a thing or two.

"Hiss~"

Seeing his father speak like this, Liu Guangtian widened his eyes and said unhappily, "Pay attention to how you speak!"

After finishing, he pointed at his father and said, "Don't look at the fact that you're my father; at home and at work, my political level is higher than yours."

"Political, and level? Pfft~"

Liu Haizhong sneered at his son's words, then said disdainfully, "Do you know what politics is? Do you know what a political level is? Go play with eggs~"

Just look at Liu Haizhong's attitude and vocabulary when talking to his son, and you'll know who his son learned his way of speaking from.

If the upper beam isn't straight, the lower beam will be crooked.

Hearing his father deny him, Liu Guangtian was naturally dissatisfied; he kicked the stool, sat at the dining table, glared at his father, and asked, "Then you tell me what politics is, and what a level is."

Liu Haizhong twitched the corner of his mouth, put his hands in front of his stomach, and said disdainfully, "I don't understand anything, but I know you guys are just talking nonsense."

After finishing, he picked up a peanut from the side, shelled it, put it in his mouth, chewed, and said, "A bunch of people stirring up trouble, without even a main ideology, not knowing the situation on the radio, just pure nonsense."

"You!"

Liu Guangtian slapped the table, pointed at his father, and shouted, "Do you know that what you're saying now is a mistake! Do you believe I'll go to the factory tomorrow and denounce you!"

"Heh~"

Liu Haizhong raised his eyebrows and said, "Go ahead, denounce me for what? Just because I said your politics are immature and nonsense?"

After finishing, he clapped his hands, shook off the peanut skins, and said disdainfully, "Do you know that the working group is using you to seize power because they received unfavorable news about them from above?"

"Seize... I don't need to know!"

He didn't know these things; he had only participated in the organization recently, less than a month, just following them to eat, drink, and smoke.

People knew he was simple-minded, but keeping him as a loudspeaker was fine; he had a loud voice.

"I only need to know that opposing everything is justified!"

"Fart!"

Liu Haizhong widened his eyes and said, "What are you doing now? You're fighting among yourselves!"

This sounded like he was accusing his son of being arrogant at home, but Liu Guangtian wanted to hear what his father was really going to say.

"What are you people? Workers!"

Liu Haizhong tapped the table, looked at his son, and said, "Then who are you targeting? Right now, it's still frontline workers; even if you've messed with the workshop cadres, what's the use?"

"And opposing, heh~"

"What?"

Liu Guangtian frowned and thought for a while, looked at his father, and asked, "Are you saying we should oppose the factory leaders?"

"Do you dare?!"

Liu Haizhong stood up, patted his clothes, glanced at his son disdainfully, and said, "Deal with the middle-level cadres first."

After finishing, he walked toward the inner room; as he walked, he said, "The radio said that we must let the masses take the initiative to participate, adopt the methods of big posters, big debates, and let the masses fully express their opinions..."

His father's words seemed to have opened a door for Liu Guangtian; the things inside the door were shadowy and unclear, but he could already feel the power of this thing.

Simply put, both father and son felt the power and influence of politics, without caring about the hidden dangers, only feeling excited.

Liu Guangtian rubbed his hands, ran to the inner room, found a piece of white paper from under the bed, and rummaged through his bag for a brush and ink; this was his...

No! This was a sharp blade in an era of change.

Since he had been inspired by his father, Liu Guangtian wanted to write a few astonishing big-character posters overnight.

He had already thought of the titles: "Middle-level Cadres Must Act First, Report Problems," "Worker Brothers Stand Up, When the Wall Falls, Everyone Pushes," "Smash the Opposing Bunkers One by One!"...

"Eat."

"Not eating, not eating, can't you see I'm busy!"

Liu Guangtian was impatient with his mother for delaying his creation and waved his hand, signaling his mother to get away quickly.

Qin Laoer Master's wife looked at her son writing and painting and had no choice but to put the food on the eight-immortal table.

Perhaps because she had complaints about her son's attitude, she used force when putting down the bowl and chopsticks, which made Liu Guangtian glare at his mother with great dissatisfaction.

When the room was quiet, he started his "creation" again.

Calling it creation, it was actually copying—copying from newspaper editorials, copying from the big-character posters he saw, and copying from the flyers issued by the organization today.

He wrote three sheets by piecing things together and was very satisfied when he picked them up to look at them.

The handwriting was passable, the sentences were okay, and the best part was this white paper and ink; they were good things he had spent money to buy, what a pity...

On Friday, Liu Guangtian went to work with his mind set on it; he looked up at the members of their "East Wind" team, and then posted the three big-character posters he wrote last night on the factory's production area bulletin board.

Good heavens!

This was the morning shift change, with people coming and going; didn't they all look at these freshly baked first, second, and third big-character posters?

Before long, not only did those who had just arrived at work stop to watch, but even those who had already entered the workshop came out.

Liu Guangtian wasn't in the production area anymore; he had been transferred to the joint enterprise, but he was still a person in the factory.

Where are the most people in the Steel Rolling Mill? Isn't it in this production area?

This bulletin board was considered the best posting location; in the past, people wouldn't dare post here without some level of skill.

Seeing the three sheets he posted this morning, the onlookers instantly started discussing.

The focus was nothing more than the words "middle-level cadres," which were dazzling, piercing, and eye-catching.

Liu Guangtian stood proudly in front of the bulletin board, explaining his claims to everyone.

If this was said well, it would really feel like a hundred schools of thought contending and a hundred flowers blooming.

Those who didn't know would think they had returned to the Spring and Autumn period, where everyone could be a Confucius.

It's just that Liu Guangtian didn't have this ability, and neither did the others; the onlookers found what he wrote ridiculous, but the title of the first sheet was truly eye-catching.

Everyone wanted to burn this fire, but everyone knew that the first one to rush to the front would suffer, so they were all just shouting.

They were familiar with the cadres in the workshop, so they dared to make things up, but these were middle-level cadres!